Documentation update
Clarify how the chat.mcp.autostart setting applies to MCP servers used by Copilot Agent Host sessions.
The current documentation describes this setting as automatically starting or restarting MCP servers when their configuration changes. The implementation instead applies the setting to VS Code's local MCP autostart pass when a chat message is submitted:
never: do not automatically start MCP servers.onlyNew: start servers that have never run.newAndOutdated (default): start new servers and servers whose configuration changed.
Disabled and errored servers are excluded from this local autostart pass.
For Copilot Agent Host sessions, the Agent Host discovers MCP configuration from workspace .mcp.json and user ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json files. VS Code also forwards eligible server configurations from supported VS Code sources, including .vscode/mcp.json. The Agent Host and Copilot SDK manage those server processes independently, so setting chat.mcp.autostart to never does not prevent an Agent Host session from launching its configured MCP servers.
Proposed changes
- Update
docs/agent-customization/mcp-servers.md with the chat-submission trigger, all three setting values, and the Agent Host scope distinction.
- Align the setting descriptions in
docs/agents/reference/mcp-configuration.md and docs/agents/reference/ai-settings.md.
- Remove the duplicate
chat.mcp.autostart entry from docs/agents/reference/ai-settings.md.
Related implementation
Documentation update
Clarify how the
chat.mcp.autostartsetting applies to MCP servers used by Copilot Agent Host sessions.The current documentation describes this setting as automatically starting or restarting MCP servers when their configuration changes. The implementation instead applies the setting to VS Code's local MCP autostart pass when a chat message is submitted:
never: do not automatically start MCP servers.onlyNew: start servers that have never run.newAndOutdated(default): start new servers and servers whose configuration changed.Disabled and errored servers are excluded from this local autostart pass.
For Copilot Agent Host sessions, the Agent Host discovers MCP configuration from workspace
.mcp.jsonand user~/.copilot/mcp-config.jsonfiles. VS Code also forwards eligible server configurations from supported VS Code sources, including.vscode/mcp.json. The Agent Host and Copilot SDK manage those server processes independently, so settingchat.mcp.autostarttoneverdoes not prevent an Agent Host session from launching its configured MCP servers.Proposed changes
docs/agent-customization/mcp-servers.mdwith the chat-submission trigger, all three setting values, and the Agent Host scope distinction.docs/agents/reference/mcp-configuration.mdanddocs/agents/reference/ai-settings.md.chat.mcp.autostartentry fromdocs/agents/reference/ai-settings.md.Related implementation